


I'm Not Afraid

by Twyd



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Crushes, Deception, Friendship, Gyms, High School, Jealousy, M/M, Manipulation, Poetry, Rivalry, Secret Crush, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21582256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twyd/pseuds/Twyd
Summary: Shizuo sees a new side to Izaya. Shinra doesn't help.
Relationships: Heiwajima Shizuo/Orihara Izaya
Comments: 10
Kudos: 126
Collections: Durarara!!





	I'm Not Afraid

Izaya and Shinra are in the high school gym on their lunch break. They like to slink off by themselves, to an unlocked classroom or a lonely corner of the library, and it was Izaya that pointed out that the gym was always unlocked and that most people preferred to play sports outside. 

The wooden floor smells of pine. Shinra is spread out with his books in a corner, doing his biology homework. His Father assigned him medical tasks outside of his schoolwork, so he had to get a headstart if he didn’t want his grades to slip. Izaya is messing around on the climbing equipment left out from an earlier class, slacklining across the high bar and singing. Foam mats pad the hard wooden floor beneath him, but Shinra suspects Izaya hadn’t even noticed them, deft and agile as a cat as he is. The singing boy is in a good mood.

The gym door opens then. Izaya stops singing and wobbles, but does not lose his balance. He and Shinra stare at the intruder.

Shizuo scowls at Izaya, but then turns his attention to Shinra, looking sheepish.

“Can you help me with my Maths homework again? I keep trying but I just don’t get it…”

Shinra invites him to sit down and take out his books.

Losing interest, Izaya goes back to his slacklining and his singing.

_ "I’m not afraid of anything, _

_ I just let it go-" _

“Shut up, Izaya,” Shinra calls good naturedly, laughing. “We’re trying to concentrate.”

In response, Izaya only sings louder.

_ "And what we say is just a game _

_ The one we play til we get old…" _

“Ignore him,” Shinra says, smiling.

“What’s he so happy about?” Shizuo mutters.

“He won another poetry competition. It secretly means a lot to him.”

“ ‘Secretly,’ “ Shizuo grumbles. “Half the damn school must be able to hear him.”

They settle down to their Maths. Shizuo appears to be distracted however, and keeps sneaking glances at the other boy, apparently fascinated by this new side to him. 

Shinra notices at one point that Shizuo has stopped paying attention to him altogether. He follows his gaze, and finds Izaya is hanging upside down by his legs. His shirt hem slips out of his belt, but he grabs it before it can reveal any skin. He grins disconcertingly as he sings.

_ "I’m not afraid of anything…" _

“Shizuo,” Shinra says patiently.

“...huh? I wasn’t…” Shizuo blushes and ducks his head, looking flustered. “Why doesn’t he audition for the school play or something?”

Shinra chortles. “Can you really see Izaya in the musical or in drama club?”

“He might leave me alone if he had something to do,” Shizuo mumbles, twisting his pen round and round in his hands. “Not that he’s talented or anything. But he’s OK.”

_ “Wonder who is fooling who…” _

Something squeezes in Shinra’s gut. He tries to focus Shizuo’s attention on the Maths. At one point Shinra had naively wanted them to be friends, all of them. But then he had realised just how compatible Shizuo and Izaya really were, and saw himself getting left behind. They were  _ his  _ friends, his only friends, friends that had taken him so long to make. So for weeks he had been spreading lies and rumours and contradicting stories to each other, about each other, fanning the flames worse than ever. Izaya was thick-skinned and didn’t seem to mind that Shizuo hated him, but Shizuo was a different story.

Shinra says nothing now, not wanting to spoil Izaya’s rare jovial mood or stress Shizuo out when he was already worked up over his maths, but tomorrow, he vows silently, tomorrow he would pit them against each other as usual. 

Shizuo eventually packs up and leaves without looking in Izaya’s direction again. Shinra notices he is very red.

Izaya lets himself land on his feet seemingly without any pain, despite the drop. He stares after Shizuo thoughtfully.

“You know,” he says to Shinra. “I think he’s almost starting to like me. He hasn’t chased me in a whole week.”

“He’s been busy because he’s worried about the Maths exam,” Shinra says. Izaya looks neutral. “Or,” Shinra adds, unable to resist. “Maybe he’s just getting bored.”

“Is he now,” Izaya murmurs, his eyes growing distant, as if he could follow Shizuo through the gym doors and down the corridor to wherever he was going. “I’ll have to do something about that.”

The bell rings, and they start to pack up their stuff, Shinra’s stomach twistint with guilt. Izaya resumes singing to himself softly.

_ "I’m not afraid of anything _

_ I just let it go..." _

**Author's Note:**

> The song is I'm Not Afraid by Emigrate and the wonderful Cardinal Copia <3


End file.
